Chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura joins Team Falcons

Saudi Arabian esports organisation Team Falcons has announced the signing of chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.

Similar to other esports teams in the space, Team Falcons has picked up the chess legend ahead of the Esports World Cup (EWC) chess competition, which will take place later this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Hikaru will be competing in the two Champions Chess Tour (CCT) events to gain access to the EWC. According to the qualification format, only the top 12 players from the CCT will advance to the multi-title event. The remaining four spots will be determined through a Last Chance Qualifier.

Unlike other grandmaster players, who have rarely been associated with esports teams, Hikaru is one of the few who has collaborated with organisations in the past. As one of the biggest chess streamers in the space, North American team TSM signed Hikaru back in 2020 on a six-figure deal.

The collaboration, however, ended in 2022, and the Grandmaster player closed a deal with Misfits Gaming Group shortly after, receiving financial support and resources for content creation. Joining Team Falcons, Hikaru is looking to aim for the EWC title and a share of the $1.5m (~£1.18m) prize pool that will be put on the line.

The competition will be tough given other GMs and high-ranking players have joined some of the industry’s top-tier esports organisations.

Indian player Arjun Erigaisi recently announced his signing with Korean team Gen.G while Team Liquid locked in four-time United States chess champion Fabiano Caruana as well as chess legend Magnus Carlsen. On the Asian side, Chinese team LGD Gaming has signed former world champion Ding Liren to compete under its banner.

French esports team Team Vitality signed Maxime ‘MVL’ Vachier-Lagrave, while NAVI expanded into chess by hiring three players: Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Wesley So, and Oleksandr Bortnyk.